Multiple suction coaster for beverage glasses and the like



Fb. 26, 1957 M. STEINBERG 2,782,948

MULTIPLE SUCTION COASTER FOR BEVERAGE GLASSES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 15, 1954 r FIG. I.

. INVENTOR MEYER STEINBERG.

BY 2 D I: My

ATTORNEY United States Patent MULTIPLE SUCTION COASTER FOR BEVERAGE GLASSES AND THE LIKE Meyer Steinberg, Woodmre, N. Y. Application December 15, 1954, Serial No. 475,367 1 Claim. C1. 2154005) This invention relates to a multiple suction coaster for beverage glasses and the like.

Coasters are used, in the main, for the purpose of protecting the tops of tables and other articles of furniture from damage or injury that might result from exposure to various kinds of beverages. Included in the term beverages for the purposes of this specification are soft drinks such as flavored carbonated water, and also beer and the so-called'hard drinks, such as whisky and other alcohol-containing liquors.

It is the function of a coaster to serve as a shield between a glass of one of the beverages above mentioned and the top of the table or other article of furniture on which it is placed. It should receive and collect the drippings from such glass and should prevent the drippings from reaching the table top, both when the glass stands thereon and while it is in process of being placed thereon or removed therefrom or while the beverage is being consumed therefrom.

The coaster should itself be impervious to the action of these liquids upon it, especially those containing alcohol and it should be liquid-tight in the sense of being impenetrable to such liquids. In addition to the foregoing, the coaster should be made of such material as will not physically mar the surface of the table or other article of furniture upon which it is to be placed and it should serve as a cushion between the glass and said surface.

The coaster herein described and claimed possesses all of the features above described but in addition it possesses other important features as follows:

The principal feature of the coaster herein claimed is its multiple suction capacity and action. It is provided with a plurality of concentric suction cups which are integral with each other in the sense of possessing a common bottom wall or floor. They are separate from each other in the sense of possessing different annular flanges which serve as the side walls of the suction cups. In the preferred form of this invention as shown in the drawing, there are only two such suction cups, an inner suction cup which is relatively small and an outersuction cup which is relatively large. This, however, is purely illustrative and it will be understood that any desirable number of concentric suction cups may be employed in con nection with the present invention.

The purpose of using a plurality of suction cups is to render the coaster engageable with glasses of various diameters in their base portions. The suction cups cause the coaster to adhere to the glasses, irrespective of their size and irrespective of the nature of the material of which they are made. A relatively large glass will be engaged by both suction cups simultaneously. A relatively small glass will be engaged by the inner suction cup only. But in either case, the coaster will be held tight to the glass, sufficiently so to be supported by the glass when it is lifted from the table. 7

An important feature of the coaster herein claimed is the annular bead or shoulder along its peripheral edge which defines an annular groove or channel to collect ice ' the drippings from the glass and to prevent the same from spilling out of the coaster when the glass with the coaster attached is tilted to drinking position. the purpose of the coaster if it were to collect the drippings only when it supports a glass in vertical or standing position, spilling its collected contents when it is raised and tilted together with the glass to drinking position. This, of course, is true only of coasters which are attached to the glass; it is not true of coasters which serve in the nature of drip trays and are not attached to the glass. On the other hand, a coaster which remains on the table when the glass is lifted to the lips does not protect against dripping from the time the glass is removed from the coaster to the time it is replaced thereon.

The present coaster accordingly possesses the advantages of an ordinary drip tray type of coaster which remains on the table when the glass is raised to drinking position and of an attached coaster which protects against dripping at all times and in all normal positions of the glass.

An additional feature of the invention is the fact that the coaster herein claimed may be provided in many different colors. These colors may be used to identify a plurality of glasses with the persons drinking from them.

Still another feature of this invention is the provision of a plurality of radially extending ribs on the bottom of the coaster. These ribs elevate the main body of the coaster above the surface on which it is placed and prevent the development of suction between said coaster and said supporting surface which would tend to hold the coaster thereon. This radial arrangement of the ribs is of course purely illustrative and all that is required for this purpose is a plurality of projecting portions on the bottom of the coaster which support it above the surface on which it is placed.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a double suction coaster made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a side or edge view thereof.

Fig. 4 is avertical section through said coaster, showing it attached to a relatively large glass with both suction cup portions in engagement therewith, and showing how said coaster is able to trap liquids.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 but showing the coaster attached to a relatively small glass by means of the inner suction cup portion only.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be understood that coaster 10 made in accordance with this invention is made of flexible, resilient material, such as natural or synthetic rubber or a compound of both natural and synthetic rubber. The type of material which is conventionally used in making suction cups may be used for the purposes of this invention. Coloring material may be incorporated into the rubber so as to provide a plurality of dilierently colored coasters which might be sold in sets of, say, six, eight or a dozen, each a different color.

Coaster 10 is provided with a bottom wall or floor 12 and an annular biased side wall 14 which is integral with said bottom wall. Along the upper peripheral edge of side wall 14 is an annular flange or lip 16 which is integral with said side wall. A plurality of radially disposed ribs 18 is provided on the bottom of bottom wall 12 to space said bottom wall from the supporting surface on which the coaster may be placed. These ribs 18 are integral vwith the bottom wall 12. Formed on the upper surface of bottom wall 12 is a pair of circular biased flanges 20 and 22 respectively, circular flange 20 being relatively small and occupying a central position in the coaster and annular flange 22 being relatively large and occupying a concentric position relative to said smaller It would defeat flange 20 and bottom wall 12 comprise is engageable with the bottom wall of a relatively small glass 24. This inner suction cup, together with the outer suction cup which annular flange 22 and bottom wall 12 comprise are both engageable with the bottom wall ota relatively large glass 26. See Figs. Sand 4 respectively. 7

It will be understood that cold glasses condense the moisture in warm, humid air. The condensate collects on the outside of the glass and tends to trickle down. In addition, there are the usualdrippings which tend to roll down the sides of the glass, especially during the process of filling it. These various drippings, including the condensate, are collected on the bottom wall 12 of the coaster as Figs. 4 and clearly show. In the case of a relatively large glass 26, the drippings 28 are collected between annular flange 22 and side wall 14:of the coaster. In the case of a relatively small glass 24, the drippings 30 may be collected between the two annular flanges20 and 22. Flange 16 catches the drippings when the coaster is tilted.

The foregoing is illustrative of a pref erred form of, this invention and it will be understood that other forms may.

be provided and modifications ofthe preferred form,

within the broad spirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claim.

' Iclairnz A coaster of the character described, comprising a disc-shaped bottom wall of substantially uniform thickness throughout, a plurality of radially extending ribs formed on the bottom of said bottom wall to space it from a supporting surface and thereby to prevent formation of suction between said bottom wall and said surface, -an"-annular, outwardly biased sidewall formed along the peripheral edge of said disc-shaped bottom wall, an inwardly extending annular lip formed along the upper peripheral edge of said side wall in'parallel relation to said bottom wall, an outwardly biased,'flexible annular flange formed on said bottom well within said side wall and concentric therewith, anda second flexible, outwardly biased annular flange formed on said bottom wall within and concentric with said first mentioned biased, flexible annular flange, both said biased, flexible annular flanges, in combination with the bottom wall of said coaster, constituting suction cups which are engageable witha glass to attach the coaster thereto, said second annular flange being engageable with a relatively small glass and both annular flanges being engageable with a relatively large glass.

References Cited the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain June 21, 1923 

